A popular clip is making its rounds through the social media world. Perhaps you’ve seen it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04dg42g

The setting is the Galapagos Islands. After emerging from their nests, baby marine iguanas must make their trek to the sea. But there is a small problem. Well, that’s an understatement. Actually, there is a really big problem. Racer snakes are lurking in the rocks licking their proverbial lips (I’m not sure snakes have lips but you get the picture) This will be their best feeding opportunity of the entire year.

The stage is set.

As the little lizard makes his way across the barren volcanic sands, the background music signals danger. From the rocky crevices, not one, but hundreds of snakes appear. The little iguana stops dead in his tracks. That’s when the narrator, in his elegant British accent, provides the traumatized viewers with this important bit of reptilian insight.

“A snakes eyes aren’t very good,’ he says, ‘but they can detect movement.”

Hope arises.

By this time every viewer is cheering for the underdog iguana. If this curiously cute critter can just remain motionless, perhaps the zillions of snakes won’t be able to see him!

But then the scenario worsens. The scary music takes us to another level of dread. A snake slithers dangerously close. Our iguana’s eyes blink rapidly. What will he do?

He makes a mad dash for the rocky hills!

And as he does, snakes begin to flow like liquid lava from the rocks. They seem to be everywhere. At this point, you are making sure you actually identify the location of this beach from hell so that you will never accidently choose to vacation there!

After a dramatic fight against all odds, the little iguana escapes to live another day. So what’s the point?

As I was watching this video, the words of the narrator reminded me of an important lesson about spiritual warfare. Satan, the serpent, can’t see very well. He is not a visionary. He, unlike God, is not omniscient. He cannot “see” our future. However, Satan, like earthly serpents, can detect movement.

Think about it. A frozen, lifeless church is no threat to him. In fact, if you just remain spiritually immobile, disengaged from what God is doing, you may live a relatively stress-free existence. But if you are moving, if you have spiritual momentum, if you are growing and advancing in your walk with Jesus, it should come as no surprise that you actually attract demonic opposition.

Satan hates movement!

This is why he stridently resists revival. Arthur Wallis, in his revival classic, In the Day of Thy Power, reminds us that revival is part of God’s divine strategy to “counteract spiritual decline and to create spiritual momentum.” Revival makes us spiritually alive and moves us forward into God’s kingdom purposes.

The good news is that Satan is no match for God!

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke reminds us that “God moves, and men no more oppose Him than an insect can oppose a tornado!” So keep moving after God. Keep pursuing His heart! Refuse to fall victim to the spirit of complacency and passivity. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet! (Romans 16:20) God’s kingdom is forever growing, increasing and advancing and we are part of that kingdom.

You may, at times, feel a little like that baby iguana! The challenges of this life can be overwhelming. You feel small, weak and powerless. I’ve been there. But remember these great words from the pen of one of the world’s great reformers, Martin Luther:

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
(A Mighty fortress is Our God)

Kara McCullough, of the District of Columbia, is black, beautiful and brilliant. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, with a concentration in Radiochemistry from South Carolina State University in 2013. While in college, she was a member of the school’s Honors College, the American Chemical Society, the Health Physics Society, the American Association of Blacks in Engineering and the American Nuclear Society. She’s currently serving as a scientist with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

So why is she under attack?

She had the audacity to suggest that healthcare was a privilege and not a right. And from a biblical perspective, she is absolutely correct.

So how are we to determine the difference between privileges and rights?

Every election cycle we hear politicians, especially those on the Left, inventing a new list of “rights” for each and every citizen. Following in the political tradition of FDR, they declare

the right to a good education…

the right to healthcare…

the right to own a home…

the right to a good paying job…

and the list continues to grow with each passing year. In fact, what decent person could argue against the pursuit of each of these noble political aspirations?

But herein lays the problem. None of the aforementioned political goals is properly defined as a “right.” When our Founders drafted our Declaration of Independence, they had a clear understanding of the meaning and source of the rights of all men. In the words of our framers,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

In fact, Thomas Jefferson went on to say, “We do not claim these [inalienable rights] under the charters of kings or legislators, but under the King of Kings.”

If a “right” depends upon someone else’s money, service or work it’s not a right. It is properly a called a “good.”

Take education for an example. People have the God-given right NOT to be prevented from pursuing a good education; however, they do not have the right to that education. Why? Because an education is dependent upon the labor of others to provide that training.

You have the God-given right to your own property, however, you do not have the right to someone else’s goods. Claiming the “right” to the property of another is called stealing!

Let’s look at the current “right” to healthcare. While this remains a noble goal, you’ll eventually have to rob, through taxation, or enslave some citizens through penalties and fines for non-compliance, to secure this “right” for others.

You see, rights are not entitlements.

When goods are required from someone else to secure your “rights” you can be sure that someone else’s inalienable rights are being violated.

According to Miss USA, “For one to have health care, you have to have a job.” Because if you don’t, you’ll be forcing someone else to pay for your “right” and that’s just not right.

Each new year brings with it the fresh opportunity for change. I love the fact that every 365 days we put a period on one year and we open a brand new one. It’s like a big “do-over” in life!

Maybe you felt like last year was a test and you bombed the exam. Well, the good news is that we get a re-take for 2017. Brush up on those areas of weakness. Make some adjustments. Raise your grade. Thank God for fresh beginnings!

My favorite teachers always took the time to review before the big, scary final exam. They wanted you to be fully prepared for what was coming. No surprises. No unclear expectations. Good teachers, after all, were committed to your success.

The Apostle Paul was a fabulous teacher. I love the way he reminds his spiritual son, Timothy, what is truly important. He is truly committed to his success. In 2 Timothy 3:10, Paul highlights three keys to a clear life vision.

But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.

Paul wants Timothy to win at life. He wants him to succeed in those areas that really matter. So he highlights three critical areas of focus.

#1. You know what I teach.

In other words, Paul was clear about what he believed. Do you know what you believe? Do others know what you believe? This is why it is so important to spend time daily in God’s Word. It’s also a reason to be deeply committed to a local church where God’s Word is consistently preached and taught. Like Paul, we should be intentional about sharing the truths of the Bible with others.

#2. You know how I live.

Paul is making reference here to his lifestyle and values. People often claim to “believe” a lot of things. For instance, you may agree that God’s Word matters but never spend time reading and studying the Bible. The best way to tell what someone really believes is to look at the way they live. Your lifestyle is your belief system in action. What you truly value will always find expression through what you do, not what you say you believe. Can people clearly see Jesus by reading your life? Do they know what you value by watching how you live? Do you value your relationship with Christ? Then spend time with Him. Do you value your marriage? Then take time to invest in your spouse.

#3. You know my life purpose.

This refers to our vocation and calling. It’s exciting to begin another year, but you need to ask yourself, “Why am I here?” For what unique purpose has God created you? If you know your WHY it brings clarity to everything else you do. God has placed within you gifts that are to be developed and used for His glory. In a sense, we are called to steward the purposes of God contained within us by maximizing them for His glory. I love this quote by John Meyers:

“It is one thing to be right with God and enjoy a measure of personal communion with Him. It is quite another to understand His greater purposes and let our personal experience be properly related to that all-inclusive end.”

I hope these three questions will bring greater clarity to your life in this New Year and in the years to come. Here’s my prayer for you…

May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed! (Psalm 20:4)

About

Dr. Ron Johnson Jr.is a 1984 graduate of Taylor University and serves as the Senior Pastor of Living Stones Church. Upon graduation at Taylor he attended Regent University where he completed his Master of Arts in Counseling as well as his Doctor of Ministry degree.